Part 8: Digging of a moat around Aṣṭāpada

After reciting this eulogy and bowing again to the holy Arhats, the sons of Sagara, delighted, descended from the temple. They honored the pure burial-mounds of Bharata’s brothers,^[1] and then, after reflecting a little, Jahnu said to his younger brothers:

“I think that a place equal to Aṣṭāpada is to be found nowhere. We shall make this shrine here like another one. Even though emancipated, Cakrin Bharata enjoys Bharatakṣetra, remaining in the guise of a shrine on this mountain which is the essence of Bharata(kṣetra). This very shrine has been made by us if the protection of the shrine to be robbed by future men is arranged for. When the duḥṣamā-period has begun, there will be men greedy of money, devoid of nobility, not considering right and wrong. Then the protection of old holy places is better than the making of new holy places.”^[2]

Destruction of the Nāgas’ houses:

The younger brothers agreed and then Jahnu took the staff-jewel which had a powerful radiance like the sun. He and his younger brothers began to dig up the earth to make a moat around Aṣṭāpada like a city. The sons of Sagara dug the moat a thousand yojanas in depth and by it split open the homes of the Nāgas. All the Nāga-folk were terrified at their houses being destroyed, like the circle of sea-monsters at the ocean being churned. On all sides the Nāgas trembled as at an enemy’s army that had come, or at a fire that had started, or at a great wind that had risen. Then the Nāga-king, Jvalanaprabha, blazing with anger like a fire, saw the Nāga-folk confused. When he saw the earth split open, thinking ‘What’s this?’ he hurried away and came to Sagara’s sons.

Terrible with a violent frown like an ocean with high waves, his lips trembling from anger like a flaming fire; casting red glances like a succession of darts made of hot iron; opening wide his nostrils which resembled blow-pipes for the fire of the thunderbolt; angered like Kṛtānta, hard to look at like the sun at the end of the world, the Nāga-king, Jvalanaprabha, said to the sons of Sagara:

“Oh, what has been done, alas! by men thinking themselves valiant, insolent from gaining the staff-jewel, like Śabaras from gaining a citadel. This destruction of the eternal homes of the Bhavanādhipas has been made now by men acting without deliberation. Why have you, sons of the brother of Ajita Svāmin, done such a thing like a cruel act by piśācas?”

Then Jahnu said to the Nāga-king: “That is right, what you, troubled by the destruction of your houses which originated with us, have said. We did not dig up the earth with the staff with the idea that your houses would be destroyed, but for the sake of protecting Aṣṭāpadatīrtha was the ground dug up in the form of a moat. Here Cakrin Bharata, the root of our family, made a shrine of precious stones and pure jeweled statues of the Arhats. We made this effort because we feared its destruction by people through the fault of future time.^[3] The destruction of your houses was not anticipated because of the distance. Alas! the unerring power of the staff is to blame for that. What was done by action without reflection and from devotion to the Arhats, pardon that. We shall not do such a thing in future.”

Thus conciliated by Prince Jahnu, the Nāga-king became calm. For the water of conciliatory speech extinguishes the fire of anger in the good. Saying, “Do not do such a thing again,” the Nāga-king went to the Nāga-world like a lion to a cave.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

See I, p. 369.

[2]:

The actual practice in India is just the opposite of this. New temples, etc., are erected in preference to repairing old ones.

[3]:

I.e., of the coming evil period.